


Army Of Songwriters

by DaddyNoel



Category: Oasis (Band), The Verve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 12:06:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18282110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaddyNoel/pseuds/DaddyNoel
Summary: After that Noel critised Liam and Richard for having an "army of songwriters" instead of writing their own songs, Richard contacts Noel to clarify the situation.





	Army Of Songwriters

“I'm offended by singers/songwriters who, when you scratch the surface actually don't do any fucking songwriting. I'm offended by that. As far as I can be aware, if you scratch the surface of any fucking solo artist in this country, they've all got a team of songwriters behind them, apart from me, Weller and Johnny Marr. I'm struggling to think about anybody else. Ashcroft, our kid, all the way to fucking Ed Sheeran and any other cunt you can fucking… The little fella from fucking One Direction… They've all got an army of songwriters behind them, d'you know what I mean? I think it's important that as a solo artist it's coming from you, or what else is it? What is it? Someone else's melodies and someone else's words.”

That's what Noel had said during an interview on December 17, 2017. Richard was completely angry and confused about it. There had been some time since he met Noel for the last time, both of them had tours, recordings and families to be focused on; however, he had always considered him a close friend and by saying something like that he realized that Noel didn't know him at all. The one offended was Richard really. He couldn't believe that Noel had passed from saying he was a genius to implying he didn't respect him as a musician. 

That's what he was thinking while he was sitting on an armchair at a lobby of the hotel Noel was staying in New York. There had passed five months since that infamous interview and he still wanted to clarify the whole thing. Richard happened to be giving a gig there and he had heard Noel was in the city too. Once the sound check was already done, he had a couple of hours before the gig and the hotel where Noel was staying was close, so he decided to pass by. The receptionist told him Noel wasn't there at the moment but would arrive anytime soon, so he decided to wait as he wasn't staying in America much longer and didn't know when he would come across Noel again. 

Since Oasis had split up, Richard never tried to take parts between the brothers. He had always said he'd love to record an album with either of them, an album everybody believed would be biblical, but never did because it wasn't his intention to upset any of the Gallaghers, both of them being his friends. 

“Ashcroft!” Richard heard a voice with a Mancunian accent calling him. He raised his head and saw an smiling Noel approaching to him. 

“How are you, mate?” Richard greeted him while he was getting up. 

They were acting like if there wasn't any tension between them. Richard extended his right hand, forgetting that Noel was left handed, and shook his as Noel rounded his shoulder with his free arm giving him a quick hug. Richard was starting to regret having tweeted about the matter, like when he posted the definition of defamation. 

“Come upstairs. I've got some booze in my fridge.” Richard accepted; although, he wasn't gonna stay there for very long since his wife, Kate, was waiting for him in order to go to the venue the gig was being held together. 

Once in Noel's suite, he grabbed a glass and poured all the liquid there was left from a Jack Daniel’s bottle. 

“So, what does it bring you here?” Noel wanted to know as he handed Richard the little glass. Then he grabbed another glass for himself. 

Richard didn't know if Noel was pretending he had said nothing about him or if he didn't remember. 

“I was close and I had heard you were here, so I thought about passing by.”

“We haven't seen each other in ages!”

“Yeah…” Richard sipped from his glass; he wanted to clarify the whole situation with Noel but asked about Sarah and the kids instead. 

“They're alright.” He never talked much about his family. 

“Listen, mate…” Richard spoke after a few silent seconds. “I don't know what the fuck you were trying to say, but telling the press I don't write my own songs…”

“I know you tweeted about it. Just like our kid does when he wants to talk shite about me.”

“You're a fucking cunt sometimes.”

“You're the fucking cunt seeking for attention tweeting your fucking struggles!”

“I can't believe it…” Richard exclaimed after some moments of looking at Noel straight in his cold blue eyes. “How much you've changed over these past years. I thought you were acting like this with the press, but you are really a fucking prick.”

Having said that pointing at Noel with his index finger, he started heading back to the door after he left the glass on a little coffee table placed in the middle of the room. 

“Wait.” Noel said, so he waited to open the door.

“I…” He couldn't find the words to say all the things caught in his mind. “I think I wasn't thinking right when I said that. D'you know what I mean?”

He stopped speaking taking another sip from his glass. Richard crossed his arms against his chest waiting for Noel to go on talking. 

“I was pissed because I'm fucking sick to be asked about Liam and about a reunion.” He explained shutting his eyes closed and immediately he opened them again. “I wanted to make a point and gave a wrong example. That's all.” He shrugged. 

“You can say whatever you want about your brother about this matter because we all know that it's true. But you shouldn't have said anything about me, man. I don't have nothing to do with the feud between you two.” He said with anger in his voice. 

“You won't tell me what should or shouldn't have done, fucking dickhead.” Noel raised his voice. “I made a mistake and now I'm trying to apologise.”

“What a splendid way to apologise… Calling me a fucking dickhead.”

Noel was ready to attack him again, but he noticed a funny expression on his face, so he smirked too. Richard was more reasonable when it came to coming back on terms, Noel had always been a resentful person. 

“Anything you've said about Liam is probably right anyway.”

“That twat could never write a proper song in his life.”

Richard only nodded because he didn't want to talk shit about Liam behind his back. 

“It's none of my business… But you could at least talk to him again. It has been almost ten years. I'm not talking about a reunion. I mean, he's your brother.”

“Does he think that when he insults my family publicly? And please, don't give me fuckin’ advise about reconciliation when you have left your band three times.”

“True, that's true. But none of the members of that band were my family.”

Noel raised his gaze and thought Richard was right but he would never admit it. 

“I can't make up with him right now. I just can't.”

Richard wasn't gonna keep on pushing after they had recently come to terms. 

“I have to be back in half an hour. Let's not spend the time we have left arguing. Tell me, how's everything going with your new album?”

‘Who Built The Moon?’ had been launched the previous November and Noel was still excited about it. Richard then told him that he was gonna release an album too in October, ‘Natural Rebel’. 

They talked about several things catching up, just like they had done it back in the 90s, as the old friends they were, they old friends they are. In the end, Richard didn't have beefs with any musician; Noel had written some of his favourite songs and he wished him all the luck in the world. Noel needn't clarify this with the press as he had apologised to the only person that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> I do believe that Noel and Richard are close friends, but Noel never said anything else about this matter and Richard tweeted that he admired him short after that interview happened. So, I needed some kind of explanation about what happened I between these two. What I wrote did happen in my mind :)


End file.
